Take the digital turn through a changing media world The mass media landscape is in a constant state of change, and one of the most important changes has been the recent turn to digital technology. The ninth edition of Media & Culture includes the following features to enhance your understanding of how we arrived at this point and where the digital turn might take us:

New part openers and accompanying infographics that showcase revealing statistics about how we use digital media — and the broader context tying together print, audio, and visual media. ▼

New Past-Present-Future boxes in each industry chapter that offer a quick, thought-provoking look at each medium’s evolution — and where it may be headed next.

◀ VideoCentral media integration that merges and converges print and the Web, with video clips and discussion questions in each chapter, and access included with every new copy of the book. Turn to the inside back cover for your login information.

The text consistently reminds us of the strands that weave their way through the material— regularly pointing out how all of the information is intimately connected.

Media & Culture is a solid, thorough, and interesting text. I will be a stronger mass communication instructor for having read this text. MYLEEA D. HILL, ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Media & Culture is the best survey text of the current crop. The writing is well constructed and does not talk down to the students. STEVE MILLER, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY

MARCIA LADENDORFF, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA

It is simply the best intro to mass communication book available. MATTHEW CECIL, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY

I think the Campbell text is outstanding. It is a long-overdue media text that is grounded in pressing questions about American culture and its connection to the techniques and institutions of commercial communication. It is, indeed, an important book. At the undergraduate level, that’s saying something. STEVE M. BARKIN, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND

Media & Culture respects students’ opinions, while challenging them to take more responsibility and to be accountable for their media choices. This text is essential for professors who are truly committed to teaching students how to understand the media. DREW JACOBS, CAMDEN COUNTY COLLEGE

I will switch to Campbell because it is a tour de force of coverage and interpretation, it is the best survey text in the ﬁeld hands down, and it challenges students. Campbell’s text is the most thorough and complete in the ﬁeld. . . . No other text is even close.

The critical perspective has enlightened the perspective of all of us who study media, and Campbell has the power to infect students with his love of the subject. ROGER DESMOND, UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD

RUSSELL BARCLAY, QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY

The feature boxes are excellent and are indispensable to any classroom. MARVIN WILLIAMS, KINGSBOROUGH COMMUNITY COLLEGE

I love Media & Culture! I have used it since the ﬁrst edition. Media & Culture integrates the history of a particular medium or media concept with the culture, economics, and the technological advances of the time. But more than that, the authors are explicit in their philosophy that media and culture cannot be separated. DEBORAH LARSON, MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY

Media & Culture Mass Communication in a Digital Age Ninth Edition

Richard Campbell Miami University

Christopher R. Martin University of Northern Iowa

Bettina Fabos University of Northern Iowa

BEDFORD/ST. MARTIN’S "OSTON s .EW 9ORK

“WE ARE NOT ALONE.” For my family — Chris, Caitlin, and Dianna “YOU MAY SAY I’M A DREAMER, BUT I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE.” For our daughters — Olivia and Sabine

Sound Recording and Popular Music119 Popular Radio and the Origins of Broadcasting155 Television and Cable: The Power of Visual Culture193 Movies and the Impact of Images237

WORDS AND PICTURES270 8 Newspapers: The Rise and Decline of Modern Journalism275 9 Magazines in the Age of Specialization313 10 Books and the Power of Print345

THE BUSINESS OF MASS MEDIA376 11 Advertising and Commercial Culture381 12 Public Relations and Framing the Message419 13 Media Economics and the Global Marketplace449

DEMOCRATIC EXPRESSION AND THE MASS MEDIA480 14 The Culture of Journalism: Values, Ethics, and Democracy485 15 Media Effects and Cultural Approaches to Research519 16 Legal Controls and Freedom of Expression545 Extended Case Study: Our Digital World and the Self-invasion of Privacy577 iv

Preface The media are in a constant state of change, but in recent years, a larger shift has become visible. E-books are outselling print books on Amazon; digital album sales have shot up as CD sales decline; and social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter reach hundreds of millions of users worldwide. As mass media converge, the newest devices multitask as e-readers, music players, Web browsers, TV and movie screens, gaming systems, and phones. In other words, the mass media world has really made the turn into digital technology. Today’s students are experiencing the digital turn firsthand. Many now watch television shows on their own schedule rather than when they are broadcast on TV, stream hit singles rather than purchase full albums, and use their videogame consoles to watch movies and socialize with friends. But while students are familiar with the newest products and latest formats, they may not understand how the media evolved to this point; how technology converges text, audio, and visual media; what all these developments mean; and how they have transformed our lives. This is why we believe the critical and cultural perspectives at the core of Media and Culture’s approach are more important than ever. Media and Culture pulls back the curtain to show students how the media really work—from the historical roots and economics of each media industry to the implications of today’s consolidated media ownership to the details of their turn into the digital world. And by learning to look at the media—whether analog past, digital present, or converged future—through a critical lens, students will better understand the complex relationship between the mass media and our shared culture. The ninth edition of Media and Culture confronts the digital realities of how we consume media now. To tie these developments together, new part openers offer an overview of the issues raised by converging media, accompanied by infographics with eye-catching statistics about how media consumption has changed in recent years, reflecting the power of technologies like DVRs, streaming radio, e-readers and digital companies like Amazon, Apple, and Google. New Past-Present-Future boxes offer perspective on where the media industries began, how they’ve evolved to where they are today, and where they might be headed next. And a brand-new Chapter 3, “Digital Gaming and the Media Playground,” addresses gaming’s newfound role as a mass medium. Increased video game coverage is just one example of how Media and Culture addresses the way mass media are converging and changing: Consoles can play not just video games but movies, music, and streaming video; streaming music continues to impact the record industry’s profits; magazines and books have evolved for e-readers. Media and Culture tells all of these stories and more. Convergence happens even within Media and Culture itself; the ninth edition combines print and digital media into a single accessible package: We have expanded the book beyond the printed page with videos offering vivid insider perspectives on the mass media industries. These fully integrated videos from VideoCentral: Mass Communication, featured in the text and accompanied by discussion questions, offer additional material that expands on the print portion of the text. Of course, Media and Culture retains its well-loved and teachable organization that gives students a clear understanding of the historical and cultural contexts for each media industry. Our signature approach to studying the media has struck a chord with hundreds of instructors and thousands of students across the United States and North America. We continue to be enthusiastic about—and humbled by—the chance to work with the amazing community of teachers that has developed around Media and Culture. We hope the text enables students to become more knowledgeable media consumers and engaged, media-literate citizens with a critical stake in shaping our dynamic world.

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The Ninth Edition The ninth edition of Media and Culture takes the digital turn, keeping pace with the technological, economic, and social effects of today’s rapidly changing media landscape.  Part openers show how convergence shapes our media experience. Each of the book’s five parts opens with a new overview offering broad, cross-medium context for the chapters that follow and draws connections to other sections of the book. Each part opener also includes an eye-catching infographic full of facts and figures related to how we consume media, in their various forms, right now.  New Chapter 3 recognizes and explains video games as a mass medium. This comprehensive new chapter, “Digital Gaming and the Media Playground,” explores the gaming industry’s journey from diversion to full-fledged mass medium—a transition that would not have been possible without convergence and the digital turn. In addition to covering the history, economics, and technology behind the industry, Chapter 3 also examines how gaming consoles function as an epicenter of media convergence. New Past-Present-Future boxes explore where the media have been, how they have converged, and where they’re headed. Media and Culture goes beyond simply telling students about the latest media technologies. The ninth edition analyzes the social and economic impact of these developments—from how the publishing industry is adapting to e-books and digital readers to how filmmakers are harnessing the power of social media to promote their movies.  Print and media converge with fully integrated VideoCentral clips. The new VideoCentral feature merges and converges Media and Culture with the Web. Video clips, added to every chapter, get students to think critically about the text and the media by giving them an insider’s look at the media industries through the eyes of leading professionals, including Noam Chomsky, Amy Goodman, and Junot Díaz, addressing topics like net neutrality, the future of print media, media ownership, and more. These clips are showcased throughout the book and easily accessible online, where accompanying questions make them perfect for media response papers and class discussions. For more ideas on how using VideoCentral can enhance your course, see the Instructor’s Resource Manual. For a complete list of available clips and access information, see the inside back cover or bedfordstmartins.com/mediaculture.

The Best and Broadest Introduction to the Mass Media  A critical approach to media literacy. Media and Culture introduces students to five stages of the critical thinking and writing process—description, analysis, interpretation, evaluation, and engagement. The text uses these stages as a lens for examining the historical context and current processes that shape mass media as part of our culture. This framework informs the writing throughout, including the Media Literacy and the Critical Process boxes in each chapter.  A cultural perspective. The text consistently focuses on the vital relationship between mass media and our shared culture—how cultural trends influence the mass media and how specific historical developments, technical innovations, and key decision makers in the history of the media have affected the ways our democracy and society have evolved.  Comprehensive coverage. The text gives students the nuts-and-bolts content they need to understand each media industry’s history, organizational structure, economic models, and market statistics.  An exploration of media economics and democracy. To become more engaged in our society and more discerning as consumers, students must pay attention to the

vi PREFACE

complex relationship between democracy and capitalism. To that end, Media and Culture spotlights the significance and impact of multinational media systems throughout the text, including the media ownership snapshots in each of the industry chapters. It also invites students to explore the implications of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and other deregulation resolutions. Additionally, each chapter ends with a discussion of the effects of various mass media on the nature of democratic life.  Compelling storytelling. Most mass media make use of storytelling to tap into our shared beliefs and values, and so does Media and Culture. Each chapter presents the events and issues surrounding media culture as intriguing and informative narratives, rather than as a series of unconnected facts and feats, and maps the uneasy and parallel changes in consumer culture and democratic society.  The most accessible book available. Learning tools in every chapter help students find and remember the information they need to know. Bulleted lists at the beginning of every chapter give students a road map to key concepts; annotated timelines offer powerful visual guides that highlight key events and refer to more coverage in the chapter, Media Literacy and the Critical Process boxes model the five-step process, and the Chapter Reviews help students study and review.

Student Resources For more information on student resources or to learn about package options, please visit the online catalog at bedfordstmartins.com/mediaculture/catalog.

New! Bedford x-Book for Media & Culture Make it easy to get on the same page with your class. Add your own pages, documents, links, and assignments; and drag and drop the contents to match the way you teach your course. Give your students video, audio, and activities—content that can’t be delivered on the printed page. And get your class talking—in the book itself. With the x-Book, students can read, watch, reflect, and share in the pages, providing a new kind of social learning experience, and instructors can see and respond to student work. What do you want your x-Book to be?

Your e-book. Your way A variety of other e-book formats are available for use on computers, tablets, and e-readers. For more information see bedfordstmartins.com/ebooks.

Expanded! MassCommClass at yourmasscommclass.com MassCommClass is designed to support students in all aspects of the introduction to mass communication course. It’s fully loaded with videos from VideoCentral: Mass Communication, the Online Image Library, the Media Career Guide, and multiple study aids. Even better, new functionality makes it easy to upload and annotate video, embed YouTube clips, and create video assignments for individual students, groups, or the whole class. Adopt MassCommClass and get all the premium content and tools in one fully customizable course space; then assign, rearrange, and mix our resources with yours. MassCommClass requires an activation code.

Book Companion Site at bedfordstmartins.com/mediaculture Free study aids on the book’s Web site help students gauge their understanding of the text material through concise chapter summaries with study questions, visual activities that combine images and critical-thinking analysis, and pre- and post-chapter quizzes to help students assess their strengths and weaknesses and focus their studying. Students can also keep current on media news with streaming headlines from a variety of news sources and can

PREFACE vii

use the Media Portal to find the best media-related Web sites. In addition, students can access other online resources such as VideoCentral: Mass Communication. For more information, see bedfordstmartins.com/ebooks.

Media Career Guide: Preparing for Jobs in the 21st Century, Ninth Edition Sherri Hope Culver, Temple University; James Seguin, Robert Morris College; ISBN: 978-1-4576-4163-3 Practical, student-friendly, and revised with recent trends in the job market (like the role of social media in a job search), this guide includes a comprehensive directory of media jobs, practical tips, and career guidance for students who are considering a major in the media industries. Media Career Guide can also be packaged for free with the print book.

Instructor Resources For more information or to order or download the instructor resources, please visit the online catalog at bedfordstmartins.com/mediaculture/catalog.

Instructor’s Resource Manual Bettina Fabos, University of Northern Iowa; Christopher R. Martin, University of Northern Iowa; and Marilda Oviedo, University of Iowa This downloadable manual improves on what has always been the best and most comprehensive instructor teaching tool available for introduction to mass communication courses. This extensive resource provides a range of teaching approaches, tips for facilitating in-class discussions, writing assignments, outlines, lecture topics, lecture spin-offs, critical-process exercises, classroom media resources, and an annotated list of more than two hundred video resources.

Test Bank Christopher R. Martin, University of Northern Iowa; Bettina Fabos, University of Northern Iowa; and Marilda Oviedo, University of Iowa Available both in print and as software formatted for Windows and Macintosh, the Test Bank includes multiple choice, true/false, matching, fill-in-the-blank, and short and long essay questions for every chapter in Media and Culture.

PowerPoint Slides PowerPoint presentations to help guide your lecture are available for downloading for each chapter in Media and Culture.

The Online Image Library for Media and Culture This free instructor resource provides access to hundreds of dynamic images from the pages of Media and Culture. These images can be easily incorporated into lectures or used to spark in-class discussion.

VideoCentral: Mass Communication DVD The instructor DVD for VideoCentral: Mass Communication gives you another convenient way to access the collection of over forty short video clips from leading media professionals. The DVD is available upon adoption of VideoCentral: Mass Communication; please contact your local sales representative.

About the Media: Video Clips DVD to Accompany Media and Culture This free instructor resource includes over fifty media-related clips, keyed to every chapter in Media and Culture. Designed to be used as a discussion starter in the classroom or to

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illustrate examples from the textbook, this DVD provides the widest array of clips available for introduction to mass communication courses in a single resource. Selections include historical footage of the radio, television, and advertising industries; film from the Media Education Foundation; and other private and public domain materials. The DVD is available upon adoption of Media and Culture; please contact your local sales representative.

Questions for Classroom Response Systems Questions for every chapter in Media and Culture help integrate the latest classroom response systems (such as i>clicker) into your lecture to get instant feedback on students’ understanding of course concepts as well as their opinions and perspectives.

Content for Course Management Systems Instructors can access content specifically designed for Media and Culture like quizzing and activities for course management systems such as WebCT and Blackboard. Visit bedfordstmartins.com/coursepacks for more information.

The Bedford/St. Martin’s Video Resource Library Qualified instructors are eligible to receive videos from the resource library upon adoption of the text. The resource library includes full-length films; documentaries from Michael Moore, Bill Moyers, and Ken Burns; and news-show episodes from Frontline and Now. Please contact your local publisher’s representative for more information.

Acknowledgments We are very grateful to everyone at Bedford/St. Martin’s who supported this project through its many stages. We wish that every textbook author could have the kind of experience we had with these people: Chuck Christensen, Joan Feinberg, Denise Wydra, Erika Gutierrez, Erica Appel, Stacey Propps, Simon Glick, and Noel Hohnstine. Over the years, we have also collaborated with superb and supportive developmental editors: on the ninth edition, Ada Fung Platt and Jesse Hassenger. We particularly appreciate the tireless work of Shuli Traub, managing editor, who oversaw the book’s extremely tight schedule; William Imbornoni, senior project editor, who kept the book on schedule while making sure we got the details right; Dennis J. Conroy, senior production supervisor; and Alexis Smith, associate editor. Thanks also to Donna Dennison for a fantastic cover design and to Kim Cevoli for a striking brochure. We are especially grateful to our research assistant, Susan Coffin, who functioned as a one-person clipping service throughout the process. We are also grateful to Jimmie Reeves, our digital gaming expert, who contributed his great knowledge of this medium to the development of Chapter 3. We also want to thank the many fine and thoughtful reviewers who contributed ideas to the ninth edition of Media and Culture: Glenda Alvarado, University of South Carolina; Lisa Burns, Quinnipiac University; Matthew Cecil, South Dakota University; John Dougan, Middle Tennessee State University; Lewis Freeman, Fordham University; Cindy Hing-Yuk Wong, College of Staten Island; K. Megan Hopper, Illinois State University; John Kerezy, Cuyahoga Community College; Marcia Ladendorff, University of North Florida; Julie Lellis, Elon University; Joy McDonald, Hampton University; Heather McIntosh, Boston College; Kenneth Nagelberg, Delaware State University; Eric Pierson, University of San Diego; Jennifer Tiernan, South Dakota State University; Erin Wilgenbusch, Iowa State University. For the eighth edition: Frank A. Aycock, Appalachian State University; Carrie Buchanan, John Carroll University; Lisa M. Burns, Quinnipiac University; Rich Cameron, Cerritos College; Katherine Foss, Middle Tennessee State University; Myleea D. Hill, Arkansas State University; Sarah Alford Hock, Santa Barbara City College; Sharon R. Hollenback, Syracuse University; Drew

For the third edition: Gerald J. Baldasty, University of Washington; Steve M. Barkin, University of Maryland; Ernest L. Bereman, Truman State University; Daniel Bernadi, University of Arizona; Kimberly L. Bissell, Southern Illinois University; Audrey Boxmann, Merrimack College; Todd Chatman, University of Illinois; Ray Chavez, University of Colorado; Vic Costello, Gardner—Webb University; Paul D’Angelo, Villanova University; James Shanahan, Cornell University; Scott A. Webber, University of Colorado. For the second edition: Susan B. Barnes, Fordham University; Margaret Bates, City College of New York; Steven Alan Carr, Indiana University/Purdue University—Fort Wayne; William G. Covington Jr., Bridgewater State College; Roger Desmond, University of Hartford; Jules d’Hemecourt, Louisiana State University; Cheryl Evans, Northwestern Oklahoma State University; Douglas Gomery, University of Maryland; Colin Gromatzky, New Mexico State University; John L. Hochheimer, Ithaca College; Sheena Malhotra, University of New Mexico; Sharon R. Mazzarella, Ithaca College; David Marc McCoy, Kent State University; Beverly Merrick, New Mexico State University; John Pantalone, University of Rhode Island; John Durham Peters, University of Iowa; Lisa Pieraccini, Oswego State College; Susana Powell, Borough of Manhattan Community College; Felicia Jones Ross, Ohio State University; Enid Sefcovic, Florida Atlantic University; Keith Semmel, Cumberland College; Augusta Simon, Embry—Riddle Aeronautical University; Clifford E. Wexler, Columbia—Greene Community College. For the first edition: Paul Ashdown, University of Tennessee; Terry Bales, Rancho Santiago College; Russell Barclay, Quinnipiac University; Thomas Beell, Iowa State University; Fred Blevens, Southwest Texas State University; Stuart Bullion, University of Maine; William G. Covington Jr., Bridgewater State College; Robert Daves, Minneapolis Star Tribune; Charles Davis, Georgia Southern University; Thomas Donahue, Virginia Commonwealth University; Ralph R. Donald, University of Tennessee—Martin; John P. Ferre, University of Louisville; Donald Fishman, Boston College; Elizabeth Atwood Gailey, University of Tennessee; Bob Gassaway, University of New Mexico; Anthony Giffard, University of Washington; Zhou He, San Jose State University; Barry Hollander, University of Georgia; Sharon Hollenbeck, Syracuse University; Anita Howard, Austin Community College; James Hoyt, University of Wisconsin—Madison; Joli Jensen, University of Tulsa; Frank Kaplan, University of Colorado; William Knowles, University of Montana; Michael Leslie, University of Florida; Janice Long, University of Cincinnati; Kathleen Maticheck, Normandale Community College; Maclyn McClary, Humboldt State University; Robert McGaughey, Murray State University; Joseph McKerns, Ohio State University; Debra Merskin, University of Oregon; David Morrissey, Colorado State University; Michael Murray, University of Missouri at St. Louis; Susan Dawson O’Brien, Rose State College; Patricia Bowie Orman, University of Southern Colorado; Jim Patton, University of Arizona; John Pauly, St. Louis University; Ted Pease, Utah State University; Janice Peck, University of Colorado; Tina Pieraccini, University of New Mexico; Peter Pringle, University of Tennessee; Sondra Rubenstein, Hofstra University; Jim St. Clair, Indiana University Southeast; Jim Seguin, Robert Morris College; Donald Shaw, University of North Carolina; Martin D. Sommernes, Northern Arizona State University; Linda Steiner, Rutgers University; Jill Diane Swensen, Ithaca College; Sharon Taylor, Delaware State University; Hazel Warlaumont, California State University—Fullerton; Richard Whitaker, Buffalo State College; Lynn Zoch, University of South Carolina. Special thanks from Richard Campbell: I would also like to acknowledge the number of fine teachers at both the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee and Northwestern University who helped shape the way I think about many of the issues raised in this book, and I am especially grateful to my former students at the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee, Mount Mary College, the University of Michigan, Middle Tennessee State University, and my current students at Miami University. Some of my students have contributed directly to this text, and thousands have endured my courses over the years—and made them better. My all-time favorite former students, Chris Martin and Bettina Fabos, are now essential coauthors, as well as the creators of

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our book’s Instructor’s Resource Manual, Test Bank, and the About the Media DVD. I am grateful for Chris and Bettina’s fine writing, research savvy, good stories, and tireless work amid their own teaching schedules and writing careers, all while raising two spirited daughters. I remain most grateful, though, to the people I most love: my son, Chris; my daughter, Caitlin; and, most of all, my wife, Dianna, whose line editing, content ideas, daily conversations, shared interests, and ongoing support are the resources that make this project go better with each edition. Special thanks from Christopher Martin and Bettina Fabos: We would also like to thank Richard Campbell, with whom it is always a delight working on this project. We also appreciate the great energy, creativity, and talent that everyone at Bedford/St. Martin’s brings to the book. From edition to edition, we also receive plenty of suggestions from Media and Culture users and reviewers and from our own journalism and media students. We would like to thank them for their input and for creating a community of sorts around the theme of critical perspectives on the media. Most of all, we’d like to thank our daughters, Olivia and Sabine, who bring us joy and laughter every day, and a sense of mission to better understand the world of media and culture in which they live. Please feel free to email us at [email protected] with any comments, concerns, or suggestions!

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Contents ABOUT THE AUTHORSiii BRIEF CONTENTSiv PREFACEv

1

Mass Communication: A Critical Approach3 Culture and the Evolution of Mass Communication6 Oral and Written Eras in Communication7 The Print Revolution7 The Electronic Era8 The Digital Era9 The Linear Model of Mass Communication9 A Cultural Model for Understanding Mass Communication10

The Development of Media and Their Role in Our Society10 The Evolution of Media: From Emergence to Convergence11 Media Convergence11 Stories: The Foundation of Media14 The Power of Media Stories in Everyday Life15 Agenda Setting and Gatekeeping15

Culture as a Map24 Cultural Values of the Modern Period26 Shifting Values in Postmodern Culture28

Critiquing Media and Culture30 Media Literacy and the Critical Process31 Benefits of a Critical Perspective31 MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS32 GLOBAL VILLAGE Bedouins, Camels, Transistors, and Coke34

CHAPTER REVIEW36 Additional Videos37

CONTENTS xiii

PART 1: DIGITAL MEDIA AND CONVERGENCE38 2

The Internet, Digital Media, and Media Convergence43 The Development of the Internet and the Web46 The Birth of the Internet46 The Net Widens48 The Commercialization of the Internet49

The Web Goes Social52 What Are Social Media?52 Types of Social Media52 The Rise of Social Media52 Social Media and Democracy54 EXAMINING ETHICS The “Anonymous” Hackers of the Internet56

Convergence and Mobile Media58 Media Converges on Our PCs and TVs58 Mobile Devices Propel Convergence58 The Impact of Media Convergence and Mobile Media59 The Next Era: The Semantic Web61

The Economics and Issues of the Internet62 Ownership: Controlling the Internet62 GLOBAL VILLAGE Designed in California, Assembled in China65

Security: The Challenge to Keep Personal Information Private68 Appropriateness: What Should Be Online?69 Access: The Fight to Prevent a Digital Divide69 Net Neutrality: Maintaining an Open Internet71 Alternative Voices71 Net Neutrality71

The Internet and Democracy73 CHAPTER REVIEW74 Additional Videos75

xiv CONTENTS

3

Digital Gaming and the Media Playground77 The Development of Digital Gaming80 Mechanical Gaming81 The First Video Games82 Arcades and Classic Games82 Consoles and Advancing Graphics83 Gaming on Home Computers84

The Internet Transforms Gaming85 MMORPGs, Virtual Worlds, and Social Gaming86 Convergence: From Consoles to Mobile Gaming87

The Media Playground88 Video Game Genres88 CASE STUDY Thoughts on Video Game Narrative89

Communities of Play: Inside the Game94 Communities of Play: Outside the Game94

Sound Recording and Popular Music119 The Development of Sound Recording122 From Cylinders to Disks: Sound Recording Becomes a Mass Medium122 From Phonographs to CDs: Analog Goes Digital124 The Rocky Relationship between Records and Radio125 Convergence: Sound Recording in the Internet Age126 Recording Music Today126

U.S. Popular Music and the Formation of Rock128 The Rise of Pop Music128 Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay129 Rock Muddies the Waters130 Battles in Rock and Roll132

A Changing Industry: Reformations in Popular Music135 The British Are Coming!135 Motor City Music: Detroit Gives America Soul136 Folk and Psychedelic Music Reflect the Times136 MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS Music Preferences across Generations138

Popular Radio and the Origins of Broadcasting155 Early Technology and the Development of Radio158 Maxwell and Hertz Discover Radio Waves159 Marconi and the Inventors of Wireless Telegraphy159 Wireless Telephony: De Forest and Fessenden161 Regulating a New Medium162

The Evolution of Radio164 The RCA Partnership Unravels164 Sarnoff and NBC: Building the “Blue” and “Red” Networks165 Government Scrutiny Ends RCA-NBC Monopoly167 CBS and Paley: Challenging NBC167 Bringing Order to Chaos with the Radio Act of 1927168 The Golden Age of Radio169

Radio Reinvents Itself172 Transistors Make Radio Portable172 The FM Revolution and Edwin Armstrong172 The Rise of Format and Top 40 Radio174 Resisting the Top 40175

Nonprofit Radio and NPR179 MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS Comparing Commercial and Noncommercial Radio180

New Radio Technologies Offer More Stations181 Radio and Convergence181 Going Visual: Video, Radio, and the Web181 GLOBAL VILLAGE Radio Mogadishu182

Radio: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow184

The Economics of Broadcast Radio184 Local and National Advertising184 Manipulating Playlists with Payola185 Radio Ownership: From Diversity to Consolidation185 Alternative Voices187

CONTENTS xvii

Radio and the Democracy of the Airwaves189 CHAPTER REVIEW190 Additional Videos191

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Television and Cable: The Power of Visual Culture193 The Origins and Development of Television196 Early Innovations in TV Technology196 Electronic Technology: Zworykin and Farnsworth197 Controlling Content—TV Grows Up199

Movies and the Impact of Images237 Early Technology and the Evolution of Movies240 The Development of Film240 The Introduction of Narrative243 The Arrival of Nickelodeons244

The Rise of the Hollywood Studio System244 Production245 Distribution246 Exhibition246

The Studio System’s Golden Age247 Hollywood Narrative and the Silent Era248 The Introduction of Sound248 The Development of the Hollywood Style249 CASE STUDY Breaking through Hollywood’s Race Barrier252

The Transformation of the Studio System257 The Hollywood Ten257 The Paramount Decision258 Moving to the Suburbs258

CONTENTS xix

Television Changes Hollywood259 Hollywood Adapts to Home Entertainment260

The Economics of the Movie Business260 Production, Distribution, and Exhibition Today260 MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS The Blockbuster Mentality263

The Major Studio Players264 Convergence: Movies Adjust to the Digital Turn265 Alternative Voices266

Popular Movies and Democracy267 More Than a Movie: Social Issues and Film267

CHAPTER REVIEW268 Additional Videos269

PART 3: WORDS AND PICTURES270 8

Newspapers: The Rise and Decline of Modern Journalism275 The Evolution of American Newspapers278 Colonial Newspapers and the Partisan Press 278 The Penny Press Era: Newspapers Become Mass Media 280 The Age of Yellow Journalism: Sensationalism and Investigation 282

Competing Models of Modern Print Journalism284 “Objectivity” in Modern Journalism 284 Interpretive Journalism 286 Literary Forms of Journalism 287 Contemporary Journalism in the TV and Internet Age 289 Newspapers and the Internet: Convergence290

The Business and Ownership of Newspapers291 Consensus vs. Conflict: Newspapers Play Different Roles 291 MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS Covering Business and Economic News292

Challenges Facing Newspapers Today301 Readership Declines in the United States301 Going Local: How Small and Campus Papers Retain Readers302 Blogs Challenge Newspapers’ Authority Online 302 GLOBAL VILLAGE For U.S. Newspaper Industry, an Example in Germany?303

Convergence: Newspapers Struggle in the Move to Digital304 Community Voices: Weekly Newspapers304 New Models for Journalism 306 Alternative Voices 307

Newspapers and Democracy308 CHAPTER REVIEW310 Additional Videos311

9

Magazines in the Age of Specialization313 The Early History of Magazines316 The First Magazines316 Magazines in Colonial America317 U.S. Magazines in the Nineteenth Century318 National, Women’s, and Illustrated Magazines318

The Development of Modern American Magazines320 Social Reform and the Muckrakers320 The Rise of General-Interest Magazines322 The Fall of General-Interest Magazines323 CASE STUDY The Evolution of Photojournalism324

Convergence: Magazines Confront the Digital Age328

The Domination of Specialization329 TRACKING TECHNOLOGY The New “Touch” of Magazines330

10 Books and the Power of Print345 The History of Books from Papyrus to Paperbacks348 The Development of Manuscript Culture349 The Innovations of Block Printing and Movable Type350 The Gutenberg Revolution: The Invention of the Printing Press350 The Birth of Publishing in the United States351

Modern Publishing and the Book Industry352 The Formation of Publishing Houses352 Types of Books353 CASE STUDY Comic Books: Alternative Themes, but Superheroes Prevail356

Trends and Issues in Book Publishing360 Influences of Television and Film360 Based on: Making Books into Movies360 Audio Books361 Convergence: Books in the Digital Age361 Books in the New Millennium362 Preserving and Digitizing Books363 Censorship and Banned Books363 TRACKING TECHNOLOGY Paper Trail: Did Publishers and Apple Collude against Amazon?364

The Organization and Ownership of the Book Industry366 Ownership Patterns366 The Structure of Book Publishing367 Selling Books: Brick-and-Mortar Stores, Clubs, and Mail Order368 Selling Books Online370 Alternative Voices371

Books and the Future of Democracy372 CHAPTER REVIEW374 Additional Videos375

PART 4: THE BUSINESS OF MASS MEDIA376 11 Advertising and Commercial Culture381 Early Developments in American Advertising384 The First Advertising Agencies385 Advertising in the 1800s385 Promoting Social Change and Dictating Values387 Early Ad Regulation388

The Shape of U.S. Advertising Today389 The Influence of Visual Design389 Types of Advertising Agencies390 The Structure of Ad Agencies392 Trends in Online Advertising396 Advertising in the Digital Age397

Commercial Speech and Regulating Advertising405 Critical Issues in Advertising406 Advertising and Effects on Children407 GLOBAL VILLAGE Smoking Up the Global Market410

Watching Over Advertising411 Alternative Voices413

Advertising, Politics, and Democracy414 Advertising’s Role in Politics414 The Future of Advertising415

CHAPTER REVIEW416 Additional Videos417

12 Public Relations and Framing the Message419 Early Developments in Public Relations422 P. T. Barnum and Buffalo Bill422 Big Business and Press Agents424 The Birth of Modern Public Relations424

The Practice of Public Relations427 Approaches to Organized Public Relations428 Performing Public Relations429 CASE STUDY Social Media Transform the Press Release432 EXAMINING ETHICS What Does It Mean to Be Green?434

Public Relations Adapts to the Internet Age437 Public Relations during a Crisis438

Tensions between Public Relations and the Press440 Elements of Professional Friction440 Give and Take: Public Relations and Journalism440 Shaping the Image of Public Relations442 Alternative Voices443

xxiv CONTENTS

Public Relations and Democracy443 MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS The Invisible Hand of PR 444

CHAPTER REVIEW446 Additional Videos447

13 Media Economics and the Global Marketplace449 Analyzing the Media Economy451 The Structure of the Media Industry452 The Performance of Media Organizations453

Social Issues in Media Economics470 The Limits of Antitrust Laws470 CASE STUDY From Fifty to a Few: The Most Dominant Media Corporations471

The Fallout from a Free Market472 The Impact of Media Ownership472 Cultural Imperialism474

The Media Marketplace and Democracy475 The Effects of Media Consolidation on Democracy475 The Media Reform Movement476

CHAPTER REVIEW478 Additional Videos479

CONTENTS xxv

PART 5: DEMOCRATIC EXPRESSION AND THE MASS MEDIA480 14 The Culture of Journalism: Values, Ethics, and Democracy485 Modern Journalism in the Information Age487 What Is News?487 Values in American Journalism489 CASE STUDY Bias in the News492

Reporting Rituals and the Legacy of Print Journalism498 Focusing on the Present498 MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS Telling Stories and Covering Disaster499

Relying on Experts500 Balancing Story Conflict502 Acting as Adversaries502

Journalism in the Age of TV and the Internet503 Differences between Print, TV, and Internet News503 Pundits, “Talking Heads,” and Politics505 Convergence Enhances and Changes Journalism506 The Power of Visual Language506 The Contemporary Journalist: Pundit or Reporter?506

Alternative Models: Public Journalism and “Fake” News507 Fake News/Real News: A Fine Line507 The Public Journalism Movement508 GLOBAL VILLAGE Why Isn’t Al Jazeera English on More U.S. TV Systems?509

16 Legal Controls and Freedom of Expression545 The Origins of Free Expression and a Free Press547 Models of Expression548 The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution549

CONTENTS xxvii

Censorship as Prior Restraint550 Unprotected Forms of Expression551 MEDIA LITERACY AND THE CRITICAL PROCESS Who Knows the First Amendment?552 CASE STUDY Is “Sexting” Pornography?558

First Amendment vs. Sixth Amendment559

Film and the First Amendment561 Social and Political Pressures on the Movies562 Self-Regulation in the Movie Industry562 The MPAA Ratings System564

Expression in the Media: Print, Broadcast, and Online565 The FCC Regulates Broadcasting566 Dirty Words, Indecent Speech, and Hefty Fines566 Political Broadcasts and Equal Opportunity569 The Demise of the Fairness Doctrine569 Bloggers and Legal Rights569 Communication Policy and the Internet570 EXAMINING ETHICS A Generation of Copyright Criminals?571

The First Amendment and Democracy572 CHAPTER REVIEW574 Additional Videos575

How to Use This Timeline This timeline pairs world events with developments in all the media and explains how media advances interact with the surrounding culture. Use it to learn more about the intersections among history, media, and culture from the birth of print to the digital age.

Timeline: Media and Culture through History Columbus lands in the West Indies

2400 B.C.E.

MEDIA AND CULTURE

The timeline is set up as follows: • The “Historical Context” row lists major events in U.S. and world history. • The “Media and Culture” row shows the connections between media advances and broad social trends. • Below “Media and Culture,” media industry rows show major advances. An arrow indicates each industry’s starting point.

Protestant Reformation begins

Landing at Jamestown

Industrial Revolution begins

American Revolution begins

MexicanAmerican War

Civil War Emancipation begins Proclamation

Civil War Spanishends American War

• 2400 B.C.E.

Papyrus

BOOKS

1453 C.E.

2400 B.C.E.–C.E. 1453: Oral communication reigns supreme. The introduction of papyrus brings portability to written symbols. In the Middle Ages, scribes formalize rules of punctuation and style, create illuminated manuscripts, and become the chief recorders of history and culture.

• 400 C.E.

Codex

1000 B.C.E. • • 600 C.E. Illuminated Earliest books manuscripts

NEWSPAPERS

1800

1840

• 1453

McGuffey Publishes Eclectic Reader

• 1640

First colonial book • 1734

Press freedom precedent is set

• 1827

• 1852

Uncle Tom’s Cabin published

• 1848

First African American newspaper

• 1821

MAGAZINES

1880

• 1870

• 1836

Printing press by Gutenberg

1690 • First colonial newspaper

1860

1840s: The telegraph ushers in a new era in 1844. For the first time, messages travel faster than human transportation, allowing instant communication across great distances. Literacy rates boom—books, newspapers, and magazines become a vital part of American society.

1453–1840: Gutenberg’s printing press with movable type allows books to become the first mass medium. Information spreads, and the notion of a free press becomes a foundation for democracy. The printed word inspires new mass media: newspapers and magazines.

World War I ends

First wire service

Mass market paperbacks

• 1860

Women receive the right to vote

Beginning of the Great Depression

RADIO

• 1880

World War II begins

World War II ends

1940

Cold War begins

Berlin Wall Civil Rights erected March on Washington

1950

1937–1945: Public relations shapes world events through print, radio, and movies. In Europe, fascism rises with overwhelming propaganda campaigns, while in the U.S., Edward Bernays and others use the “engineering of consent” to sell consumer products and a positive image of big business. Movies offer both newsreels and escape from harsh realities.

• 1925

The Jungle published

JFK MLK and RFK assassinated assassinated

1960

1945–1960: Many American families make an exodus to the suburbs, and television becomes the electronic hearth of homes. As TV becomes the dominant medium, movies diversify their content to draw new audiences. The mass media target teenagers as a group for the first time; teens lead the rise of rock and roll and the sounds of Top 40 radio.

• 1940

The Great Gatsby published

• 1884

Man on the moon

Vietnam War ends

Reagan and the rise of conservatism

Equal Rights Amendment fails to be ratified

Fall of Communist Bloc and Berlin Wall

First Gulf War

September 11 terrorist attacks

• 1951

Native Son published

Catcher in the Rye published

1957 • On the Road published

1970

1960s: As the Cold War fuels the space race, defense research leads to communications satellite technology and the beginnings of the Internet. Domestically, television’s three main networks promote a shared culture and, with news images of racism in the South and war in Vietnam, social movements. An active FCC prevents media mergers and manages competition in radio and TV broadcasting.

1970s: Social issues take the forefront in broadcast television, with TV shows broaching topics such as race, class, politics, and prejudice. The popularization of the VCR, the expansion of cable, the invention of the microprocessor, and the new musical forms of hip-hop and punk rock set the stage for major media trends in the 1980s and 1990s.

War in Iraq

Obama elected

• 1987

Borders established as first superstore

In Cold Blood published

2000

1990s: The digital era is in full swing. The Internet becomes a mass medium, computers become home appliances, and e-mail—born in the 1970s—revolutionizes the way people and businesses communicate around the world. CDs and DVDs deliver music, movies, and video games. Corporate media dominate through consolidation and the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which discards most ownership limits.

2010s: Devices like smartphones and touchscreen tablets become more prevalent, making it simpler to consume a wide variety of media at any time and in any place. In this emerging era of media convergence, it will be fascinating to see what the future of media holds.

2000s: Media fragmentation deepens and political polarization divides the U.S. Cable and the Internet become important news sources but no longer require that we share common cultural ground, as did older forms of radio, TV, and the movies. E-commerce booms. Movies, TV shows, music, books, magazines, and newspapers converge on the Internet. The rise of smartphones and touchscreen devices makes it easier than ever to consume a variety of media at any time and in any place.

• 1997

Amazon.com launched

• 1926

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn published

• 1879

1877 • First Edison’s wax cylinder experiments with sound by phonograph de Martinville

1930

1920–1936: Networks take hold of radio broadcasting, uniting the U.S. with nationwide programming and advocating an ad-based system. But as the Roaring Twenties turn into the Great Depression of the 1930s, many Americans grow distrustful of big business. Citizens’ groups push to reserve part of the airwaves as nonprofit, but commercial broadcasters convince Congress that their interests best represent the public interest.

• 1906

Linotype and offset lithography

The age of yellow journalism

Engravings and illustrations are added to magazines

• 1850s

MUSIC

1920

• 1880s–1890s

Increasing circulation

• 1850s

National magazines. The Saturday Evening Post is launched

1900

1880–1920: The Industrial Revolution gains full steam, and the majority of the U.S. population shifts from rural to urban areas. As urban centers grow, muckraking journalists focus on social issues and big business. Media formats explode: Nickelodeons bring film to cities, recorded music is popularized, and radio becomes a full-fledged mass medium. The U.S. becomes an international power, advertising fuels the booming consumer economy, and public relations spurs the U.S. into World War I.

• 1844

Read the timeline vertically to contextualize a given time period in terms of history, culture, and the media spectrum. Read it horizontally to understand the developments within individual industries. Because media forms have exploded over time, the timeline becomes denser as it moves toward the present.

James Cameron uses specially created 3-D cameras (developed with Sony) to present a whole new world in Avatar • 2010

Hulu Plus debuts

• 2012

Netflix subscribers surpass Comcast, the largest cable company

• 2010

Apple launches the iPad, which sells 15 million units in its first year • 2011 Wireless devices popularize cloud computing

Media Ownership: Who Owns What in the Mass Media? Media ownership affects the media you consume and how you receive that media. While the media used to be owned by numerous different companies, today six large conglomerates—Sony, Disney, Comcast/NBC Universal, News Corp., Time Warner, and CBS— dominate. However, in the wake of the digital turn, several more companies have emerged as leaders in digital media. These ﬁve digital companies—Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook—began in software or as Web sites, but their reach has expanded to compete with traditional media companies in many areas as they have begun producing, distributing, and consuming content. This visualization breaks down the media holdings of these digital companies to help you understand their growing inﬂuence. As you examine this information, think about how much of your daily media consumption is owned by these top digital companies (as well as more traditional conglomerates like Sony or Disney). Which companies have the most inﬂuence on your entertainment and news consumption? What about on the technology you use every day? What does it mean that so few companies own so much of the media? Are there areas where the newer digital companies have a weaker hold?

$85 billion Amount of 2008 U.S. government loan to insurance giant AIG

$61 billion Net worth of Bill Gates in 2012

$50,175,000,000 $42,300,000,000

$613.9 billion Department of Defense proposed budget for 2013

$28.2 billion President’s ﬁscal year budget for the U.S. Department of Justice in 2011 $18.7 billion NASA proposed budget for 2011 $17 billion Total U.S. retail sales in the video game industry in 2011 $14.1 billion Net worth of Mark Zuckerberg (CEO of Facebook) in 2011

$315 million Amount AOL paid for the Hufﬁngton Post in 2011 $40 million Estimated cost of the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony $35 million Amount News Corp. sold MySpace for in 2011 $1.5 million Amount People magazine paid for the exclusive photos from Kim Kardashian’s wedding $142,544 Average four-year tuition and room and board at a private university

$50,054 Median U.S. household income in 2011

Media & Culture

Mass Communication A Critical Approach 6 Culture and the Evolution of Mass Communication 10 The Development of Media and Their Role in Our Society 17 Surveying the Cultural Landscape 30 Critiquing Media and Culture

On November 6, 2012, shortly after 11 P.M., Fox News projected that Barack Obama had won Ohio, as he did in 2008, and would be reelected president of the United States. But Karl Rove, a Fox News analyst and the chief campaign fundraiser for the Republican Party, began questioning the news anchors, arguing it was too early to call the election for President Obama. Rove persuaded one anchor to walk down the hall, on live television, and confront the statisticians in the “decision room” about their projection. What followed was an uncomfortable yet dramatic period, with Fox News managers sticking by their projection while Rove and Republican candidate Mitt Romney’s campaign protested. It turned out that the statisticians were right. This news drama during the 2012 election highlighted a number of media issues that swirled around the campaign. Rove’s prominence and inﬂuence at Fox News showcased the outsized role campaign contributors seemed to play in the election. While the campaigns raised more than $1 billion each, the parties themselves and outside partisan groups raised an additional CHAPTER 1 ○ MASS COMMUNICATION3

1

MASS COMMUNICATION

$4 billion, making it the most expensive federal election ever.1 With unlimited funds raised by corporations, rich individuals, and unknown groups (thanks to the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling by the Supreme Court—see Chapter 16), partisan pundits and concerned citizens alike fretted about rich donors dictating election outcomes. Much of this money was spent, of course, on political TV ads. By mid-October 2012, the Las Vegas TV market had already aired 73,000 political ads—10,000 per week— a new record with three weeks still to go.2 The Richmond (VA) TV market stood to rake in as much as $18 million.3 Many local retailers in swing states could not afford TV advertising during the political blitz—or got bumped off the air by political advertisers, as TV stations jacked up prices and even cut local news time to squeeze in more ads.4 One often suggested solution: “Require . . . television to provide free air time to qualiﬁed candidates.”5 But while Republicans outspent Democrats in nine of ten swing states where most of the TV ad money was concentrated, North Carolina was the only swing state that went to Romney.6 Exit-poll data provides some reasons for President Obama’s win: He won 55 percent of women voters, 93 percent of African American voters, 71 percent of Hispanic voters, 73 percent of Asian voters, and, perhaps most telling, 60 percent of eighteen- to twentynine-year olds—the social media generation.7 In 2012 the president “had 32 million likes compared with 12 million for Romney” on Facebook; and on Twitter, he had 23 million followers “and out-tweeted Mitt Romney by a margin of eight to one.” 8 Given the rise of social media and the new clout of young voters, it’s worth asking whether TV will continue to play such an outsized role in future federal

4CHAPTER 1 ○ MASS COMMUNICATION

elections—especially since much ad spending did not produce the desired results. With the ability to mute ads or bypass them with DVRs, and with young people less interested in television, will such outrageous spending continue? In the end, how well did TV media—where most people get their political information—help us understand the complex issues of our time? In a democracy, we depend on news media to provide information about these issues. As citizens, therefore, we should expect that TV stations use a portion of their massive political advertising revenue to investigate the main issues of the day and serve as a counterpoint to the one-sided and mostly negative ads— and not lay off reporters or cut their newsblock time to run more ads. Despite the limitations of our news media, their job of presenting the world to us and documenting what’s going on is enormously important. But we also must point a critical lens back at the media and describe, analyze, and interpret the stories and ads to arrive at informed judgments. This textbook offers a map to help us become more media literate, critiquing the media—not as detached cynics, but as informed audiences with a stake in the outcome.

“The two main principles of marketing—not spending more than the sale is worth; focusing the most resources on the most susceptible buyers—are thrown out in presidential elections.” MICHAEL WOLFF, USA TODAY, 2012

SO WHAT EXACTLY ARE THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE MEDIA? In the wake of the 2012 presidential election, the economic and unemployment crises, the Occupy Wall Street movement, the ongoing war in Afghanistan, and the political uprisings in several Arab nations, how do we demand the highest standards from our media to describe and analyze such complex events and issues? At their best, in all their various forms, from mainstream newspapers and radio talk shows to blogs, the media try to help us understand the events that affect us. But, at their worst, the media’s appetite for telling and selling stories leads them not only to document tragedy but also to misrepresent or exploit it. Many viewers and social critics disapprove of how media, particularly TV and cable, seem to hurtle from one event to another, often dwelling on trivial, celebrity-driven content. In this book, we examine the history and business of mass media, and discuss the media as a central force in shaping our culture and our democracy. We start by examining key concepts and introducing the critical process for investigating media industries and issues. In later chapters, we probe the history and structure of media’s major institutions. In the process, we will develop an informed and critical view of the influence these institutions have had on national and global life. The goal is to become media literate—to become critical consumers of mass media institutions and engaged participants who accept part of the responsibility for the shape and direction of media culture. In this chapter, we will:  7ZZh[iia[o_Z[Wi_dYbkZ_d]Yecckd_YWj_ed"Ykbjkh["cWiic[Z_W"WdZcWiiYecckd_YWj_ed  ?dl[ij_]Wj[_cfehjWdjf[h_eZi_dYecckd_YWj_ed^_ijeho0j^[ehWb"mh_jj[d"fh_dj"[b[Yjhed_Y" and digital eras  ;nWc_d[j^[Z[l[befc[dje\WcWiic[Z_kc\hec[c[h][dY[jeYedl[h][dY[  B[WhdWXekj^emYedl[h][dY[^WiY^Wd][Zekhh[bWj_edi^_fjec[Z_W  BeeaWjj^[Y[djhWbheb[e\ijehoj[bb_d]_dc[Z_WWdZYkbjkh[  :_iYkiijmeceZ[bi\eheh]Wd_p_d]WdZYWj[]eh_p_d]Ykbjkh[0WiaoiYhWf[hWdZWcWf  JhWY[_cfehjWdjYkbjkhWblWbk[i_dXej^j^[ceZ[hdWdZfeijceZ[hdieY_[j_[i  IjkZoc[Z_Wb_j[hWYoWdZj^[\_l[ijW][ie\j^[Yh_j_YWbfheY[ii0Z[iYh_fj_ed"WdWboi_i"_dj[hpretation, evaluation, and engagement As you read through this chapter, think about your early experiences with the media. Identify a favorite media product from your childhood—a song, book, TV show, or movie. Why was it so important to you? How much of an impact did your early taste in media have on your identity? How has your taste shifted over time to today? What does this change indicate about your identity now? For more questions to help you think about the role of media in your life, see “Questioning the Media” in the Chapter Review.

Past-Present-Future: The “Mass” Media Audience In the sixties, seventies, and eighties—the height of the TV D[jmeha;hWºf[efb[mWjY^[ZcWdoe\j^[iWc[fhe]hWci" like the Beverly Hillbillies, All in the Family, the Cosby Show, or the evening network news. But today, things have changed— especially for younger people. While almost all U.S. college students use Facebook every day, they are rarely posting or reading about the same experiences. In a world where we can so easily customize our media use, the notion of truly “mass” media may no longer exist. Today’s media marketplace is a fragmented world with more options than ever. Prime-time network TV has lost

half its viewers in the last decade to the Internet and to hundreds of alternative channels. Traditional newspaper readership, too, continues to decline as young readers embrace social media, blogs, and their smartphones. The former mass audience is morphing into individual users who engage with ever-narrowing politics, hobbies, and entertainment. As a result, media outlets that hope to survive must appeal not to mass audiences but to niche groups— whether these are conservatives, progressives, sports fans, history buﬀs, or reality TV addicts. But what does it mean for us as individuals with civic obligations to a larger society if we are tailoring media use and consumption so that we only engage with Facebook friends who share similar lifestyles, only visit media sites that aﬃrm our personal interests, or only follow political blogs that echo our own views?

1

MASS COMMUNICATION

Culture and the Evolution of Mass Communication

CULTURAL VALUES AND IDEALS are transmitted through the media. Many cosmetics advertisements show beautiful people using a company’s products; this implies that anyone who buys the products can obtain such ideal beauty. What other societal ideas are portrayed through the media?

One way to understand the impact of the media on our lives is to explore the cultural context in which the media operate. Often, culture is narrowly associated with art, the unique forms of creative expression that give pleasure and set standards about what is true, good, and beautiful. Culture, however, can be viewed more broadly as the ways in which people live and represent themselves at particular historical times. This idea of culture encompasses fashion, sports, literature, architecture, education, religion, and science, as well as mass media. Although we can study discrete cultural products, such as novels or songs from various historical periods, culture itself is always changing. It includes a society’s art, beliefs, customs, games, technologies, traditions, and institutions. It also encompasses a society’s modes of communication: the creation and use of symbol systems that convey information and meaning (e.g., languages, Morse code, motion pictures, and one-zero binary computer codes). Culture is made up of both the products that a society fashions and, perhaps more important, the processes that forge those products and reﬂect a culture’s diverse values. Thus culture may be deﬁned as the symbols of expression that individuals, groups, and societies use to make sense of daily life and to articulate their values. According to this deﬁnition, when we listen to music, read a book, watch television, or scan the Internet, we usually are not asking “Is this art?” but are instead trying to identify or connect with something or someone. In other words, we are assigning meaning to the song, book, TV program, or Web site. Culture, therefore, is a process that delivers the values of a society through products or other meaning-making forms. The American ideal of “rugged individualism,” for instance, has been depicted for decades through a tradition of westerns and detective stories on television, in movies and books, and even in political ads. Culture links individuals to their society by providing both shared and contested values, and the mass media help circulate those values. The mass media are the cultural industries—the channels of communication—that produce and distribute songs, novels, TV shows, newspapers, movies, video games, Internet services, and other cultural products to large numbers of people. The historical development of media and communication can be traced through several overlapping phases or eras in which newer forms of technology disrupted and modiﬁed older forms—a process that many academics, critics, and media professionals began calling convergence with the arrival of the Internet. These eras, which all still operate to some degree, are oral, written, print, electronic, and digital. The ﬁrst two eras refer to the communication of tribal or feudal communities and agricultural economies. The last three phases feature the development of mass communication: the process of designing cultural messages and stories and delivering them to large and diverse audiences through media channels as old and distinctive as the printed book and as new and converged as the Internet. Hastened by the growth of industry and modern technology, mass communication accompanied the shift of rural populations to urban settings and the rise of a consumer culture.

6CHAPTER 1 ○ MASS COMMUNICATION

Oral and Written Eras in Communication In most early societies, information and knowledge first circulated slowly through oral traditions passed on by poets, teachers, and tribal storytellers. As alphabets and the written word emerged, however, a manuscript, or written, culture began to develop and eventually overshadem[ZehWbYecckd_YWj_ed$:eYkc[dj[ZWdZjhWdiYh_X[ZXof^_beief^[hi"cedai"WdZij[de]raphers, the manuscript culture served the ruling classes. Working people were generally illiterate, and the economic and educational gap between rulers and the ruled was vast. These eras of oral and written communication developed slowly over many centuries. Although exact time frames are disputed, historians generally consider these eras as part of Western civilization’s premodern period, spanning the epoch from roughly 1000 B.C.E. to the mid-fifteenth century. ;Whboj[di_ediX[jm[[dehWbWdZmh_jj[dYecckd_YWj_edfbWo[ZekjWced]WdY_[dj=h[[af^_losophers and writers. Socrates (470–399 B.C.E.), for instance, made his arguments through public conversations and debates. Known as the Socratic method, this dialogue style of communication and inquiry is still used in college classrooms and university law schools. Many philosophers who believed in the superiority of the oral tradition feared that the written word would threaten public discussion by oﬀering fewer opportunities for the give-and-take of conversation. In fact, Socrates’ most famous student, Plato (427–347 B.C.E.), sought to banish poets, whom he saw as purveyors of ideas less rigorous than those generated in oral, face-to-face, question-and-answer discussions. These debates foreshadowed similar discussions in our time regarding the dangers of television WdZj^[?dj[hd[j$:eWif[Yjie\Yedj[cfehWhoYkbjkh["ikY^Wih[Wb_joJLi^emi"Jm_jj[h"WdZ social networking sites, cheapen public discussion and discourage face-to-face communication?

EARLY BOOKS Before the invention of the printing press, books were copied by hand in a labor-intensive process. This beautifully illuminated page is from an Italian Bible made in the early 1300s.

The Print Revolution While paper and block printing developed in China around 100 C.E. and 1045, respectively, what we recognize as modern printing did not emerge until the c_ZZb[e\j^[\_\j[[dj^Y[djkho$7jj^Wjj_c[_d=[hcWdo"@e^Wdd[i=kj[dX[h]¾i invention of movable metallic type and the printing press ushered in the modern fh_dj[hW$Fh_dj_d]fh[ii[iWdZfkXb_YWj_edij^[difh[WZhWf_ZboWYheii;khef[ _dj^[bWj['*&&iWdZ[Whbo'+&&i$;Whboed"cWdoXeeaim[h[bWh]["[bWXehWj[" and expensive. It took months to illustrate and publish these volumes, and they were usually purchased by wealthy aristocrats, royal families, church leaders, fhec_d[djc[hY^Wdji"WdZfem[h\kbfeb_j_Y_Wdi$=hWZkWbbo"^em[l[h"fh_dj[hih[duced the size and cost of books, making them available and affordable to more people. Books eventually became the first mass-marketed products in history. The printing press combined three elements necessary for mass-market innovation. First, machine duplication replaced the tedious system in which scribes hand-copied texts. Second, duplication could occur rapidly, so large quantities of the same book could be reproduced easily. Third, the faster production of multiple copies brought down the cost of each unit, which made books more aﬀordable to less aﬄuent people. Since mass-produced printed materials could spread information and ideas faster and farther than ever before, writers could use print to disseminate views counter to traditional civic doctrine and religious authority—views that paved the way for major social and cultural changes, such as the Protestant Reformation and the rise of modern nationalism. People started to resist traditional clerical authority and also to think of themselves not merely as members of families, isolated communities, or tribes, but as part of a country whose interests were broader than local or regional concerns. While oral

CHAPTER 1 ○ MASS COMMUNICATION7

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MASS COMMUNICATION

“We are in great haste to construct a magnetic telegraph from Maine to Texas; but Maine and Texas, it may be, have nothing important to communicate. . . . We are eager to tunnel under the Atlantic and bring the old world some weeks nearer to the new; but perchance the ﬁrst news that will leak through into the broad ﬂapping American ear will be that Princess Adelaide has the whooping cough.” HENRY DAVID THOREAU, WALDEN, 1854

and written societies had favored decentralized local governments, the print era supported the ascent of more centralized nation-states. ;l[djkWbbo"j^[cWY^_d[fheZkYj_ede\cWiigkWdj_j_[ij^Wj^WZh[ikbj[Z_dWbem[h[ZYeij per unit for books became an essential factor in the mass production of other goods, which led to the Industrial Revolution, modern capitalism, and the consumer culture in the twentieth century. With the revolution in industry came the rise of the middle class and an elite business class of owners and managers who acquired the kind of inﬂuence formerly held only by the nobility or the clergy. Print media became key tools that commercial and political leaders used to distribute information and maintain social order. As with the Internet today, however, it was diﬃcult for a single business or political leader, certainly in a democratic society, to gain exclusive control over printing technology (although j^[a_d]ehgk[[dZ_ZYedjhebfh_dj_d]fh[iib_Y[di[i_d;d]bWdZkdj_bj^[[Whbod_d[j[[dj^Y[dtury, and even today governments in many countries control presses, access to paper, advertising, and distribution channels). Instead, the mass publication of pamphlets, magazines, and books in the United States helped democratize knowledge, and literacy rates rose among the working and middle classes. Industrialization required a more educated workforce, but printed literature and textbooks also encouraged compulsory education, thus promoting literacy and extending learning beyond the world of wealthy upper-class citizens. @kijWij^[fh_dj_d]fh[ii\eij[h[ZdWj_edWb_ic"_jWbiedekh_i^[Zj^[_Z[Wbe\_dZ_l_ZkWb_ic$ People came to rely less on their local community and their commercial, religious, and political leaders for guidance. By challenging tribal life, the printing press “fostered the modern idea of individuality,” disrupting “the medieval sense of community and integration.”9 In urban and industrial environments, many individuals became cut oﬀ from the traditions of rural and small-town life, which had encouraged community cooperation in premodern times. By the mid-nineteenth century, the ideal of individualism aﬃrmed the rise of commerce and increased resistance to government interference in the aﬀairs of self-reliant entrepreneurs. The democratic impulse of individualism became a fundamental value in American society in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.